Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1887-11-08

Here !. story iba, !. related IA con-
neciioa 9Th the youthful days OF Hon.
Hannibal HamliB. when public .eniinsn,
as 20, exactly a. /; Is now on the TEN
peranoe question and good old Medio'd
and Jsmsie. rum wss 20 be lad IN al
iavsrr. and Ia tssily every household,
and the grea, majority Of people took AZ
occasional glass. In these Time = custom
which h.s nov partially fallen into dis.
Use, ba, then "ia The zenith q it. fame.
among extensive farmers. ~as the "hnsk.
ing. party" to which all the ycutg men ard
women Of the nsishbOrhOod ~eie invited.
They we're plsniitally supplied With good
things; their elders were made eomfor-
table With vell.eoneoc,ed punsh. and IN
return for this hospitality all the COM
psny. old and young helped 10 hu'k the
farmers corn. That young men OF pro-
PER spin; were particularly active IN the
work vii Be readily understood. wksn
IL Is stated that 10 the fortunate husksf
Who foghd red ear Vas accorded the
right right. by.ihe-wsy. Which could
no, be disputed ~i,hOu, giving grO.s Of
tvnes-,o kiss any girl ia the company.
II wss ihi. custom which gave nee 20
The otee famous eOupls,;
uoaid 90 husk for co-s o. steers
lN only husk 10 set rvd ears-"
0ns evening. ~ party ofihi. sort. to
which Hannibal Hamlin. then q yoarg
man attending scholar Hebron Academy.
and hi. companion. were inyiled. . o,r-
isin old gentleman. whose name need
90, here Be mentioned. took rather more
Msdford rum than was good for hin.
In fact be became dissgreebly bois,srOGs.
At thi. the ,chOOl.b0ys took offence. and
10 bring The Old topper TO bis senses they
pslied him With hard ears u corn, and.
With more yisor than ceremony, rolled
him in the ha,ks. The r.al, Of this
treatment VA. iha, the old fellow left
the party With black eye and very
sore body. IL VAS expected ,ha, thl.
would end the matter. Those Who
held 70 this view. however. we're sarpiis-
Cd early the rexi morning TO hear iha, all
the Academy boys who attended The
party bad been arrested on . wIusn,
charging them With assault and battery.
Without delay they we're taken before
the Justice Of The Peace, Who held bis
court ia Al cd kitchen. and who Was
proceeding in = very PomPous manner
10 try the case. when suddsnly the door
Of the apartment gave way beneath the
unusual strain 10 which Il Was subjected,
and the justice and complainant. students.
witnesses, and spectators. together With
the family Cat. chairs, tables, pots. pars.
and closet full Of erockery. were pre-
eipitsisd ea masss into the cellar. The
old people cried out with alarm; the
self.imPOr,sni justice Of the peace be~sil-
ed bis broken furniture and china the
boys. fading that nobody Was hurt.
laughed heartily 81 the disaster which
had fallen on their prosecutors and .,
last the eoar, vas adjourned TO the
Academy. Here. Hannibal Hamlin.
smOsg the rss,. was called upon to ,ss,i-
~.
As he went upon the stand tall.
blsek-eysd bOy-thsre was . bum OF
expectation among the spectators, and
smo;hersd ordinations Of "Give II TO
them. 'Hannyr" from his school
friends; this eomno,iOa wss due to the
fact that the boy vas known to have
taken quite an interest In recent trisls
which had occurred in the local courts.
and because IL was belived that be had
II odd times picked up Law enough to be
more than . match for the thick-viitsd
justice Of the peace. This proved to be
the case.
ibid you throw any ear Of corn a,
the plaintiff p vas tho first question
asked. With ffovn. BY the court.
mo. cir" answered Hannibal. with
. ely t-inkIe in his bright eye. yet with
admirable gravity mo. cir. ! did not
throw any ear Of corn At the plaintiff"
do you swear 700 did not ?"
ii swear l did not. "snswered the boy.
For moment the court paused. looked
grave. and then asked.
did you ses anyone else throw any
sax ~ 60, AZ a. xxl.tnx,H 30